I recently moved out of my boyfriend’s house into my own pad, which means no more action movies, no more fights about laundry and perhaps, most importantly, no more espresso machine.
Since I’ve been in New Orleans this machine has always been by my side to whip me up the perfect cup – whether of thick espresso alone or with steamed soy milk and cinnamon. Sadly I’ve forgotten what it means to live on my own, to pick my own hairs out of the shower drain and to spend days, weeks or even months seeking out the perfect coffee shop.
As an Italian-American there are a few things in life I take very seriously. Those things are, in no particular order: good food, good wine, good family and good coffee. When it comes to coffee shops, there’s a lot that goes into finding the one.
A girl can’t just settle for some watered down cup of joe, and luckily in New Orleans, there’s no need to. While we are without adequately paved roads, we’re blessed with dozens of coffee options. My new coffee shop inevitably becomes a major part of my life. Until I move, or they go out of business or something goes terribly wrong, I will wake up there, see the world through wi-fi there and pick up Gambit so I know just where to eat, drink and dance when I’m done.
Public relations professionals often refer to a company’s employee as their first line of defense and a coffee shop barista is the perfect example. Maybe you like the pretentious, borderline offensive type. You know, the Rue de La Course type with the vintage T-shirt complete with an “all customers are losers” attitude. Then there’s the foreign accent, ever-appreciative barista a la Jay’s Bubble Tea. A good barista, like any service industry employee, (note: I am one), when well-tipped and clearly told, will know just what you want by your second drink.
And then there’s the atmosphere to consider. Do you prefer the Barbie doll art and the enchanted forest feel of Z’otz, or the airy outdoor flow punctuated with gentle live jazz of Café du Monde? Some shops attract artsy folks with heads of long curly hair and bells on their shoes. Others emit a heavy intellectual vibe full of clicking computer keys, turning pages and a crowd spotted with med students in green scrubs. Or maybe the clientele consists of yogis with perfect bodies or mocha vanilla bean frappe slurping fatties. Where do you fit in?
Above all, of course, is the coffee. Whether you’re picky about the dryness of your soy milk cappuccino or the exactly 15 ice cubes in your cool coffee, truly good beans can always shine through the rubble of a poorly made drink. But when choosing a coffee shop, always remember, you can teach a barista to fix a drink the way you want it but if the core of the operation lacks quality, everything else will inevitably follow suit.
